Julia Quinn, the author of ‘Bridgerton’ breaks her silence on Francesca’s homosexual history

One of the biggest changes between the book and the exhibition The Bridgerton Chronicles season three has finally been addressed by the novelist Julia Quinn, who wrote the bestselling novels on which the Netflix series is based. The third season of the series, centered on a romance between Luke Newtonit’s Colin and Nicolas CoughlanPenelope also featured Francesca’s love stories, both in the present with her husband, John Stirling, and in the future with her cousin, whom she meets in the season three finale.

“A lot The Bridgerton Chronicles fans expressed their surprise, and for some, their disappointment at the twist at the end of The Bridgerton Chronicles Season 3: Michael Stirling, with whom Francesca ends up falling in love When he was mean, would rather be Michaela,” Quinn wrote in an Instagram post Monday. Third season features Hannah Dodd like Francesca, Victor Alli like John, and Masali Baduza like Michaela.

“I am deeply committed to The Bridgerton Chronicle the world becomes more diverse and inclusive as stories move from book to screen,” Quinn continued. “But changing the gender of a major character is a huge change, and so when (showrunner) Jess Brownell initially approached me with the idea of ​​transforming Michael into Michaela for the series, I needed more information before agreeing.

Brownell, who took over from Chris Van Dusen this season, said previously Vanity Fair that she “was able to do a little more inventiveness” with Francesca, “guided by Julia Quinn.”

After Michaela Stirling’s gender swap was finally revealed, Brownell explained his reasoning for the change in Francesca’s arc. “The first time I read When he was bad, which is Francesca’s book, I really identified with it as a queer woman,” Brownell said VF. “Her story is sort of about feeling different. In Julia Quinn’s book, it really has more to do with her introversion. But for many of us in the queer community, this feeling of feeling different from a young age is part of our stories. So I felt like there was already a thematic richness in his book in relation to his story. Telling a faggot The Bridgerton Chronicles story, I didn’t want to just insert a queer character to check a box. I want to tell a story about the queer experience and make sure its history is rich. And I feel like we can do that with Francesca.

In her Instagram post, Quinn wrote that while she trusts Shondaland’s vision for The Bridgerton Chronicles, she wanted to make sure “we could stay true to the spirit of the book and the characters.”

“Jess and I talked about it for a long time,” she continued. “More than once. I made it clear that it was extremely important to me that Francesca’s undying love for John be shown on screen. The first part of Francesca’s book, When he was bad, is devoted to her and John’s love. It is only after his tragic death that she develops feelings for her cousin.

“I actually had to fight to include the first four chapters, which establish this love,” Quinn wrote. “My editor was concerned that writing about Fran’s love for John would take away from Michael’s role as a possible romance novel hero. But I felt that if I didn’t show how deeply she loved John, and how much Michael, her cousin, loved her too, then their feelings of guilt over falling in love with each other after the John’s death made no sense. I didn’t just want to tell the reader that they loved it. I wanted the reader to feel it.